Ideology in My Controversy

Charles Tsevis We Can Code It! June 19th, 2014  via Flickr

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

• Who is involved in the controversy?

The people/groups involved in the controversy are Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft. The other groups involved are the people in the field of computer science, more specifically the women in the field of computer science. 

• Who are some of the major speakers/writers within these groups?

The controversy occurred at the Grace Hopper convention. Hopper was the first woman in the computer science field and was a trailblazer for women int he field of computer science. She is an inspiration to this day. Also, Maria Klawe was the woman who was interviewing Nadella and asked the question about what woman should do when they aren't comfortable asking for a raise. She politely disagreed with Nadella as his response was that women should not ask for a raise. Satya Nadella holds a grand authority in the computer science realm as he is the CEO of arguably the biggest computer science in the world. 

• What kind of social/economical/cultural/political power does each group hold?

When exploring the ideologies of this controversy, the two groups will be Satya Nadella and big computer science companies. The other group will be women in computer science. The power that Nadella and other large companies hold is that they control the IT business. They create most of the technology in the world, which is a huge economical position. People rely on them to access their social media, access their bank accounts, and to even perform their job efficiently. For this reason they are extremely powerful Comanches and their CEO's are as powerful as the companies themselves. The women that work in the computer science field do not have merely as much power as they work for these companies. There are very few women employees which makes them lest powerful in all aspects. What they have to their advantage is that they are skillful and valuable employees. This gives them power when asking for a raise or for better benefits. 

• What resources are available to different positions?

The resources available to women are that of the public. Many people have voiced their opinions of women and the pay gap that still exists in the United States to this day. The resources that the women fighting for more representation in computer science have is the ever growing support for women and gender equality. The resources Nadella and company have is that of money and big business. It is very hard to go up against a big company on a controversial topic because they have enough money to quiet your stance and to make their stance stand out to the public more. 

• What does each group value?

Nadella and other big companies value their companies. They want to be the biggest, best company out there. They also want to make the most money and be the most successful. For the other side of the controversy, the women value their hard work. They value it and want to be paid accordingly for it. They also value working for their company, they just feel as if they should be treated better and paid as much as anyone else that is doing the same amount/type of work. 

• What counts as evidence for the different positions?

For the women who are seeking more representation in computer science, the evidence is clear. There is a significantly less amount of women working in IT. Since they are under-represented they have a harder time receiving the respect they deserve. For Nadella, I have a hard time finding evidence he has. He did say that by not asking for a raise it would allow the women to have faith in the system and that would give them good karma and a good raise. 

• Is there a power differential between the groups? Usually groups involved in a controversy will disagree which side holds the power.

There is a clear power differential between the groups. For as long as computer science has been relevant it has been mostly men working in the field. To this day it is dominated by males and most CEO's are male. Women have proved that they are skillful at computer science and are now becoming more relevant in the computer science field. They are now seeking equal rights and equal representation in the field. It is difficult for them to gain this as it has been a male-dominated field since it has been around. 

• Is there any acknowledged common ground between groups?

The acknowledged common ground between the two groups is that women are becoming just as important in the computer science field. Whether people like it or not, women are becoming important for their IT companies and are vital employees in computer science. The other common ground that is known is that computer science lacks diversity among their employees as they are predominately Asian or White males.

• Is there any unacknowledged common ground?

The only unacknowledged common ground is that women deserve to be paid the same. Some people fail to understand or agree on that. If they are doing the same work then they deserve the be paid the same. There should be no wage gap. Women should also be bale to be comfortable asking for a raise if they feel they deserve it. 

• Do the various groups listen to each other? That is, do they respond to the claims made directly by each other? Or do they only talk to people who already hold the same position? 

The various groups do listen to each other. The problem they are having is a problem that is being resolved with time. There is no immense amount of anger, the women are still working for their select computer science companies. Nadella did make his controversial comments at the Grace Hopper convention, a convention celebrating women's impact in computer science. He just said something he may have regret saying because of the way it was interpreted. I believe he didn't necessarily mean that women don't deserve a raise. I believe he was trying to say that a women should not ask for a raise and wait for a raise to be awarded. I feel as if he would've said the same thing about a man asking for a raise.